A Color Story Is Here!

If you want to go frantically download it RIGHT NOW, we get it…we can wait.

Here are the main features and some examples of how we have been using A Color Story. All the photos below have been edited using only the app:

OVER 100 FRESH, COLORFUL FILTERSWe were able to replicate our favorite color balancing techniques from Photoshop exactly in this app, making a wide range of filters that can be used as 1-tap editing for your photos!

One of our top priorities was creating filters that make your colors REALLY pop. And with so many options to choose from, there are a ton of really interesting variations within the packs! This lends itself to a LOT of creative freedom!

*Image by @Laura_Elizabeth edited with Summer from the Chroma pack (yes, just one tap, and it makes such a HUGE difference!)

A lot of filters we’ve used in the past change, tint or dull color instead of enhancing it. It was extremely important to us to create filters that enhance color, rather than covering it up!

OVER 20 FREE TOOLS, INCLUDING CURVES

And for the photos that need just a little more fine-tuning, we’ve included over 20 tools that you can use to get it exactly right—including fully functioning curves that even allow you to target RGB. All of the tools in the app come completely free without purchasing a thing.

When it comes to iPhone photos, there’s no such thing as “perfect lighting”. It always needs a bit of a boost! So the go-to tools make it really easy to brighten your photo along with the many filters that brighten for you.

We have three really cool effects packs: Flare & Bokeh, Light Leaks and Color Fog. These effects are built from multiple layers of shapes and color blending at different modes to make them truly part of your photo. And each of these effects can be moved and rotated with your fingers, so you can customize your photos and make them look and feel natural.

CREATE AND SAVE CUSTOM FILTERS

Like the edits you just made? Save them as your own custom filter at any point. The history menu in the bottom left will always help you keep track of your edits, and the SAVED feature will let you repeat a whole set of steps on a new photo with just one tap.

If you haven’t seen our video yet, you can get a feel for all the functionality here!

*Image by @ArielleVey edited with Soft & Bright from the Organic Pack.

Alright, guys! We really need your help! Please send this app to friends who haven’t heard about it yet. We really want to get the word out this week!! And if you like the app, please leave us a review on the App Store. It helps us so much! xx- Elsie

*Android version coming SOON. It’s in the final stages of testing now. We’re really excited to launch that version as well!

**Some people are having trouble with in-app camera access. Apple has made some updates to camera functionality in iOS, so make sure you’re on the latest version of iOS, and that should solve the problem. If that or anything else is still giving you any trouble, please email support at [email protected]

Oh! Android! That’s a very pleasant surprise! I thought after your experience with your first app you weren’t going to develop for Android again, so it’s brilliant to see that you are. Color Story looks *brilliant*, can’t wait to use it.

I have been waiting for an app like this! Quick first impressions suggestion – Can you make the “before” image not rotate back to the original way it was? Like if I have an image that is turned 90 degrees the wrong way the first thing I do in the app is rotate it correctly but then after I add filters, etc. and want to look at the before and after it is a little distracting when the image rotates back to the way it originally was rather than just turning the filters on and off. Does that make sense? Haha. This is proving to be harder to explain that I thought it would be.

PS – The UX of the app is seriously amazing and I am blown away by it!

downloaded it right after I woke up this morning 🙂 played around with it a little bit and I think it’s going to replace vsco as my go-to phone editing app. it has all the same features vsco does with the added curves (and I think I like your filters better!)

I’m so excited for this! Finally a photo editing app that I can actually use! I’ll be sitting here as patient as possible waiting for the Android version. Thank you so much for your hard work on this project! And for offering it to us for FREE!! You guys are awesome.

Well, got it now! For some reason it wasn’t showing on my iPhone, but I found it through iTunes on my Macbook. So I’m a happy camper now! AMAZING app you guys. I can already tell it’s moved to the top of my list for photo editing apps!

Canuck here and downloading as I type… purchasing all available packs and so excited to carve out some time and just sit with the app and play. An SLRer by nature it will b so nice to have an app that can make phone shots look snapalicious! Hope you have a super successful first day with your new release!!!

Hey Karen!
Sarah is working on a blog post (video) that teaches how to use them. It might be a couple weeks, though. The best way to learn is honestly just playing around with it. By moving the points/dots you can lighten, darken and change the color on your photo.

I’m not a huge curves user, personally, so I usually just use brightness, contrast and 1 filter (or sometimes even JUST a filter). :))

Amazing app!! We welcomed our second little kiddo into this world a few days ago and I have been having so much fun taking photos and playing around with all the filters and tools. Beautiful work you guys!!

Maybe you could be a little more open/clear about just how much of this ‘free!’ app is locked away in purchasable packs. Like, actually mention the cost say, anywhere in the post. I’m cynical enough that I knew it wouldn’t be genuinely/completely free, but holy moly that’s a lot of pay-for packs, like 90% of the app is not free, and while each pack is affordable they’re not so cheap that they don’t need mentioning (and again, there are so many that to purchase them all would start to get unrealistic for app costs). Boo 🙁

Hi Maria! Once you pay for the added filters or the entire pack, which is only 7.99, you can use them as much as you want without paying anything extra. Feel free to email us at hello AT acolorstory DOT com if you have anymore questions! -Jacki

Hi Caitlin,
When you download for free you get 20+ editing tools (including curves), 10 free filters (including one of my favorites in the whole app, Everyday) and a few sample effects. You also have the ability to make and save your own filters for free. I actually tested using ONLY the free items for several weeks and, honestly, it wasn’t difficult to use at all. It was awesome.

We tried to be really generous with what comes for free and make it an app that’s actually usable without spending any $. We know what it’s like to download a “free” app and then find out that you have to purchase something to even use the app, and this is not in that category by any stretch.

We wanted to make the free part of the app SO good that people would want to purchase more.

The reason we didn’t mention the purchase packs in this blog post was because right now our main goal is simply to share the free download aspect. We really think the packs sell themselves once you try the free essentials filters. And if not, that’s ok too!

I’m sorry if our communication came off the wrong way, that’s truly not how we intended it.

Hope you love using A Color Story whether you choose to buy in-app purchases or not! :))

Hi!
I’ve downloaded and love it already- QUESTION for you awesome folks: is there a way to see/test out what buying the $7.99 additions gets you? It might be super obvious but i can’t figure it out in the app!! I’d love to buy it if i could see what i was getting!

Hi Megan,
You’re so observant! And you’re correct, that is intentional.
We want to treat A Color Story as it’s own company, a sister company to ABM. We knew the ABM audience would be love A Color Story, but we didn’t want to limit the branding to just our audience. 🙂

Hey Elsie!!!! I love the app, but I need to ask you a question, I don’t know if you will get it? So many comments, it’s great!!
I am kind of a new reader, so I was wondering what happened to the red velvet store, are you having anymore live streams, and do you paint and do journaling classes anymore? I am such a big fan and I want to meet you really bad!!!

-Emma and I decided to close our store a couple years ago because it wasn’t super profitable and we were getting lot of opportunities that we were more excited about, like writing books and expanding A Beautiful Mess! We look back on our store as an AMAZING memory, but we don’t really miss it and are happier with the daily work we do now. 🙂

-I still paint for fun, but I don’t sell my paintings right now. I feel like I am in between styles and I am hoping that in the next couple years I’ll be able to develop a new style I’m excited about.

Downloaded and played around with a photo! Looks like many neat options and tools. A bit deceiving from your blog post about the app being FREE when the app packs are only available when purchased. Would there be harm in mentioning that upfront in the post?

Try the second link not the first (the one that just says ‘a color story’. The first one said the app was unavailable but the second one was good. I’m in Australia so thought maybe it was an international thing. 🙂

Actually the app does come with a lot of stuff for free! Over 20 editing tools, 10 filters and a sample pack of effects. Plus the ability to make and save your own custom filters, that’s also free. I wrote a longer version of this explanation above, but at this stage we are just focusing on marketing the free app (which is LEGIT, usable and amazing) not the add-on packs. We’ll talk more about those in future posts. But for today we wanted to stick with a simple message. :))
Hope that helps! xx- Elsie

This app looks very exciting especially for those who love taking photos. I’m really amaze with how pictures are improved because of photo filtering apps. A color story looks like it would bring added enjoyment for photo and gadget enthusiasts. Thanks for sharing. Will check it out!

I don’t understand how this is “free.” Every choice I selected was an online purchase. I would either make it clear here that it’s not free OR be more clear about what parts of the app are free – because I couldn’t tell.

Hi Alanna! The app comes with 20+ editing tools (including curves), 10 free filters, and a few sample effects. You also have the ability to make and save your own filters for free. Email us at hello AT acolorstory DOT com if you’re having issues downloading the packs! -Jacki

Hi Margo! The app comes with 10 free filters, 20+ editing tools, curves (one of our favorite features) and the ability to make and save your own filters. Elsie explained this in more detail above if you’d like to read more. If you have anymore questions or concerns don’t hesitate to email us at hello AT acolorstory DOT com. 🙂 -Jacki

Really wonderful app, babes. It’s a lot of fun and while I love the VSCO app so much, I NEEDED a bright and crisp editor and I love editing on my phone. It’s so much fun and I was WAY excited to get that $7.99 deal on ALL the effects. I wrote a whole blog post (http://sentimentalcynical.blogspot.com/2016/01/another-snow-day-photo-editing-with.html) about it! ANYWAY, I have another question, I noticed when I was looking through the collections there was a photo of Press Coffee (in Dayton) and that gorgeous “Drink Coffee” sign. That’s my coffee spot AND my Boyfriend’s friends actually opened it! I wondered who took the photo? And thought it was the neatest little find. Stay cozy everyone!

hands down, your best app yet 🙂
loved & bought both of your older ones, but you’re spot on with this – it does simulate more photoshop gestures and adjustments than ever before. starting a slow clap all on my own over here!

This app is FABULOUS! Thank you so much for creating it and filling the need I’ve had for clarity and color without oversaturation! I’ve blogged about it to the 3 people that follow me (including my mom). Ha! I have a smidge more reach on instagram, so I posted there also, and I pinned the link. You have a new follower for life. 🙂